Small Modular Reactors
Nuclear Energy Market Potential for Near-term Deployment
Recent interest in small modular reactors (SMRs) is being driven by a desire to reduce
the total capital costs associated with nuclear power plants and to provide power
to small grid systems. According to estimates available today, if all the competitive
advantages of SMRs were realised, including serial production, optimised supply chains
and smaller financing costs, SMRs could be expected to have lower absolute and specific
(per-kWe) construction costs than large reactors. Although the economic parameters
of SMRs are not yet fully determined, a potential market exists for this technology,
particularly in energy mixes with large shares of renewables.
This report assesses the size of the market for SMRs that are currently being developed
and that have the potential to broaden the ways of deploying nuclear power in different
parts of the world. The study focuses on light water SMRs that are expected to be
constructed in the coming decades and that strongly rely on serial, factory-based
production of reactor modules. In a high-case scenario, up to 21 GWe of SMRs could
be added globally by 2035, representing approximately 3% of total installed nuclear
capacity.
Published on October 26, 2016
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